Roller hockey:

Joseph Boo

The AKS Swarm youth roller hockey club team won two North American

roller hockey Atom Division championships in a row, but the

eight-year-olds on this year’s team don’t remember any of that.

None of them, including Costa Mesa’s Brett Ollinger and Newport

Beach’s Evan McNerney, were on either of those teams. While they will be

representing AKS Swarm as it tries to win its third consecutive

championship trophy, this year’s trip to Toronto marks a daunting first

trip for the kids.

“I’m nervous and a little excited,” Evan said.

Nevertheless, they have gotten used to winning. After a relatively

slow start, which includes a couple of second-place finishes, AKS Swarm

has won a handful of tournaments, and it heads north to Toronto as a

favorite to win its third North American championship in a row. The

tournament starts on July 27. They’ll go in with national honors,

collected last weekend in Las Vegas.

If AKS Swarm is going to win that third championship, Brett, a

defenseman and the alternate captain, and Evan, a forward, will be

integral players.

“I’m worried about, but I feels kind of good,” McNerney said.

But when Evan and Brett hit the rink, all nervousness should dissipate

once the adrenaline starts flowing.

The 8-year-old Brett, who started playing roller hockey before he was

4, is the youngest player on the team. He will enter third grade at

Kaiser Elementary school in the fall. But that hasn’t stopped Acongio

from naming him the alternate captain.

“Watching Brett, he plays very well under pressure,” AKS Swarm Coach

Scott Acongio said. “He’s very calm, and I like to see that in him.”

Off the rink, Brett is shy, answering any question with one word. But

he turns into a completely different player once he suits up, takes a

stick in his hands, and start patrolling the rink.

“He just hates to lose,” Brett’s mother, Christie Ollinger said.

That drives him to extremes on the rink, and he is noted for doing

pretty much anything to help his team win.

“He’ll do anything I ask, although he’ll get mad afterward for doing

it” Acongio said. “If I ask him to stop the puck with his teeth, he’ll go

and do it. He’ll get in front of any shot.”

Evan, who will enter the fourth grade at Our Lady Queen of Angels,

plays with the same fire.

“He plays with a lot of determination,” Acongio said. “He has a very

good heart.”

Evan picked up roller hockey three years ago. He started skating

around in his back yard and “just got the hang of it.”

Evan quickly fell in love with roller hockey and rapidly improved in

three short years. He tried out for AKS Swarm, even though other kids had

more experience than him, and he made the team.

“I expected to make it,” he said.

Evan plays about 40% of a game, according to Acongio. He also plays on

AKS Swarm’s power play unit, which Evan says is his favorite part of the

game.

“He’s turning into a very good player,” Acongio said. “he has very

good hands, and he’s a good stickhandler.”

Evan is one of the team’s top scorer, but he likes passing even more.

He likes the power play because of all the assists he collects.

With Evan, Brett and other strong eight-year-old players, AKS Swarm

has been on a roll recently. With the players we have, it made Acongio’s

first year on the team a successful one, and he thinks the chances of his

team three-peating is pretty good.

“I think we’re the team to beat,” Acongio said. “There are a couple of

teams in California alone that has a chance. But my goal is to win it,

period.”